Broadcast map program method employing point-of-interest, geo-coordinate validation by a trusted person

ABSTRACT

An map display method wherein a point of interest is displayed on a map, the geo-coordinates updated by a trusted person and then stored for subsequent display to the displays of a plurality of different computers such as through the internet.

BENEFIT CLAIM

This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §120 as aContinuation of prior application Ser. No. 14/177,096 filed Feb. 10,2014, which is a continuation of prior application Ser. No. 13/545,962,filed Jul. 10, 2012, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,649,976; which is aContinuation of prior application Ser. No. 12/107,633, filed Apr. 22,2008, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,219,318, which claims the benefit under 35U.S.C. §120 as a Continuation of prior application Ser. No. 11/110,976,filed Apr. 19, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,373,244, and which claimsbenefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. Provisional Application No.60/563,639, filed Apr. 20, 2004, the entire contents of each of which ishereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to computer-based approaches forinformation mapping. The invention relates more specifically toapproaches for creating and displaying maps for travel, business orother purposes.

BACKGROUND

The approaches described in this section could be pursued, but are notnecessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued.Therefore, unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches describedin this section are not prior art to the claims in this application andare not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.

Today, an extra-ordinary amount of time is spent “locating places”—abusiness traveler looking for a client's office, a good restaurant fordinner, a coffee shop to stop at before the first morning meeting, or agolf course to entertain a client on; a resident in a metropolitan arealooking for a particular type of store carrying a particular item, or afast-food restaurant in a certain section of town; a salesman ordelivery person planning a day's route; or a vacationer looking forplaces to visit, places to stay, places to eat—anything and everything aperson might desire to experience while on vacation. Searching forplaces in unfamiliar areas is time consuming. Ironically, we often findourselves searching for the same place, or same type of place, in thesame unfamiliar area at a later point in time. The process of findingand selecting a place, equally involves both the “what” and the “where.”In the process to narrow down selections, candidates are qualified andpicked by both meeting the requirements of what is needed, and theirlocation or proximity to where the need is. Often to review both the“what” and the “where,” for multiple candidates at the same time,requires a search of multiple information sources, while flipping backand forth between the information sources to make an assessment. Theability to quickly locate and view both qualifications and locations ofmultiple candidates simultaneously would be beneficial.

Some of the most popular tools used for locating and/or qualifying a POIinclude; telephone directories—both the white and the yellow pages,printed maps, printed travel guides, and Internet searching and mapping.Other popular locating tools include electronic travel and business mapsas found on PC's, palm devices, and in-vehicle systems, andcommunications devices, like a telephone, where, for example, a call ismade for information and/or directions. In some scenarios, thecommunications may be wireless and may not require voice. Tools arechosen based their effectiveness in accomplishing a particular task inthe least amount of time. Each of the above mentioned tools has its ownbenefits and shortcomings.

Tools with the most promise involve the use of digital maps, where thebenefits of viewing various locations by proximity can be realized. Thisrequires the address of the location to be converted to a place on themap, using a process called address geocoding, and a high degree ofemphasis has been placed on development of this. Address geocoding is aprocess of creating or calculating a set of geographic coordinates(latitude and longitude) from a street address, using what GeographicData Technology, Inc. (GDT) refers to as an Address Coding Guide (ACG).An ACG consists of sets of files that provide city, state, and zip codedata needed to locate addresses. It also contains street segmentinformation that includes the street name and starting and ending housenumber for both odd and even numbered sides of the street. The ACG alsocontains information designed to compensate for the fact that addresses,address abbreviations, locality names, and so on, have many variations,and that some streets may be referenced by more than one name. Itgenerally contains a spell correction program to fixes errors such asone letter differences, extra spaces, missing spaces, transposedcharacters, etc.

The ACG also incorporates an address-match strategy that can be set fromaggressive to conservative. As one party describes this, “TheConservative strategy follows the strictest set of rules. At the otherextreme, the Aggressive method uses the most flexible rule set forfinding addresses. In other words, it is able to find more addresses atthe expense of accuracy. The differences among the strategies areillustrated in the following examples. In the first example, you want tofind the location of the house address 420 James St., but the streetdatabase only contains segments for James St. with the ranges of 2-98,100-198, and 200-298 for the given locality. The Find Address commandwould not find a match for this address using the Conservative or Normaladdress-match strategies. With the Aggressive strategy, it would matchit to the 200-298 segment because the house address number 420 is within200 of the house address range on that segment. The software would placethe geocoded point on the high end of the segment at the same pointwhere the address 298 James St. would be placed. In a second example,you want to find the house address of 320 James St. As in the previousexample, the Normal address-matching strategies would match to the200-298 segment because that is within 100 of the range on that segment,as would Aggressive. The location of this address would not be foundusing the Conservative strategy.”

The creating or building of an Address Coding Guide is an enormous task.The TIGER database, used by the US Census Bureau in the street levelmapping of the US, is generally used as the base for the ACG's in theUS, but it is incomplete, and with continuing building construction,updating is needed more often than every 10 years. The capturing of thelatitude and longitude coordinates is performed by researchers drivingup and down streets with elaborate electronic data collection devices.U.S. Pat. No. 6,687,612 describes one such system that utilizes anelectronic glove for interpreting hand and finger gestures of theresearcher while the data collection system is being driven around.

Theoretically, once all the roads are mapped into the ACG, any streetaddress can be converted into a latitude and longitude, or what isreferred to as a geocode for geographic coordinate, for marking aposition on a digital map. In practice, the collection of the latitudeand longitude of every road in the US is a massive, labor intensive, andhence expensive task, as evidenced by the patenting of elaboratecollection devices. Until this process is completed, if one assumes itcan ever be completed with continuing building construction, there willalways be holes or errors in the ability of the database to return acorrect or accurate geocode for an entered address.

Some have estimated that between 15% and 20% of the addresses attemptedto be mapped, are not mapped to an exact numbered street location. Quiteoften a “best match” is produced, where using more aggressive strategiesthan described above, the entered address is matched to a zip code, or acity, or to a place along the street where the city or zip code boundarychanges. On rarer occasions, the address is matched to the geo-centroidof the state, or the centroid of the US, which is near Alton, Kans.Mapping percentage accuracies decline in rural areas, where roads aremore remote, and rural routes without numbers, rural route boxes and POboxes are used more frequently. Inaccurate matches can be caused by aplethora of things, including; 1) the street and its numbering has notyet been geocoded—vanity addresses, which can be mistaken for driveways,seem to be the last to be captured; 2) the entered address isincomplete—missing either the street number and the street name and thestreet type; 3) the entered address is, or contains, a PO box, abuilding number, or a suite number; 4) the entered address contains aspelling error, a typographical error, or an abbreviation not matchingthe abbreviations used in the database, 5) the street has multiplenames, both official and unofficial, and all have not been captured inthe database; 6) the official or posted mailing address either does notcontain, a street number, or a street name, or it reads “1 mile South oftown,” or the mailing address is in a different town from which the POIis actually located; 7) a particular region uses an unconventional meansof numbering or naming streets, i.e. using dashes or letters within thestreet number (93-124, or N100), or using numbers within the street name(Avenue 47); and more.

The above geocoding techniques and resulting errors also are found inInternet mapping services, like MapQuest or Yahoo! Maps, in PC-basedtravel map programs, like Microsoft's Streets and Trips, or Delorme'sStreet Atlas USA, and in PC-based business map programs, likeMicrosoft's MapPoint, or ESRI's BusinessMap.

Not all POI's are best located by a street address. Therefore, using ageocoding process exclusively, for finding and locating these POI's, hasserious shortcomings. This includes POI's located in an airportterminal, or in a shopping mall, especially where the mall sits furtherback from the street. For example, the LAX airport has 10 Starbuck'scoffee shops in 8 different terminals, all of which have the sameaddress and geocode to the same location in typical map programs. Oftenall the stores in a mall will have the same address. The travel andbusiness map programs, thus far, have not included any airport terminalor shopping mall building outlines.

The travel mapping and business mapping programs available today boastof including millions of places of business and points of interest, orPOI's. While their advertising emphasizes quantity, including theability of the programs to locate nearby hotels, restaurants, servicestations, ATM's, and other POI's, there exists a lack of dependabilityin use. The included sets of POI's are incomplete and fragmented, POI'sare incorrectly classified, and contain duplicate, discrepant andseriously outdated items and data. The approach to deciding which POI'sto include can only be described as piecemeal, as if they were cherrypicked.

For example, advertising for the 2004 version of one of the more populartravel mapping programs says the program includes 7,000+ golf courses.What they don't advertise, and what the public generally doesn't know,is that almost 18,000 golf courses exist in the US. They don't advertisethat 10,000 golf courses, the lion's share, were left out. This sameprogram only included a few hundred Starbuck's coffee locations, whenover 6,000 exist in the US, and this is on the fourth annually updatedversion of the program. These deficiencies are not regular orpredictable, and are only discovered during use or by performing aquality check. This general lack of consistency and thoroughness is oneof the reasons these programs are not used more frequently and reliedupon as a means of locating POI's.

The travel mapping and business mapping programs available today alsomake it difficult to locate any included POI's on the map. Often, POI'scan only be seen, or be fully identified, by zooming in to streetmagnification level and scouring the map. POI's either disappear orloose their recognizable identities at higher, zoomed-out, levels. Howmany streets does one need to scour, looking for a coffee house, beforeconcluding their may not be one in the area, or at least not one on themap?

Many, if not all, of the map programs have search features, where onecan look for a Starbuck's coffee house, for example. The search canoften yield a long listing of stores with the address (street, cityand/or state) in which they are located. Often these are listedalphabetically. If one is familiar enough with the area being visited, anearby street, town or suburb might be recognized by scrolling down thelist. However, more often than not, visitors by definition are lessfamiliar with the areas being visited. Browsing though the list, whileoccasionally highlighting one of the listings to then see if its mappedlocation looks at all familiar, can be a time consuming and frustratingordeal.

The POI's included in the mapping programs include many familiarfast-food franchises. When a familiar type of place is viewed on themap, one may know what to expect on a visit. However with some POI's,additional information is often needed before a visit. Golf courses area good example. Knowing the type of course, public or private, thenumber of holes, the fees, the degree of difficulty, etc. is essentialin deciding where to play. As another example, it would be useful toknow more about a restaurant with an unfamiliar name; does it have adrive-up window, or a five star rating? A mapping program might showwinery locations, but one needs to go to another source of informationor make a phone call to find hours of operation, whether they have winetasting, and how much the winery charges for this. The standardtelephone directory, contact type information of name, address and phonenumber, currently provided on these mapping programs, is lacking ininformation to make a decision on whether to further pursue a candidatePOI.

Some mapping programs integrate basic “Yellow Pages” listings, where POIsearching can be performed by category listing. There are a number ofissues with this generalized approach. As mentioned above, there is thethoroughness or completeness issue with the percentage of businesses(POI's) that list in the yellow pages. There are also issues withplacing POI's in categories. While a particular POI may be included inthe mapping program, it may not be found under the category where onemight expect to find it. Is a pizza parlor with a takeout or drive-thruwindow listed under pizza places, fast-food places or by cuisine underItalian restaurants? Is a golf course with a driving range listed underGolf Courses or Golf Practice Ranges, or both? How is a yellow page GolfCourse listing for Discounted Tee Times to be mapped?

The above described piecemeal, slap-it-together, cherry pickingpractices for including POI's in mapping programs and in in-vehiclesystems, have resulted in a lower than expected acceptance of theproducts as effective POI location tools.

Some map programs allow sets of data with addresses to be imported andmapped. This allows a frequent traveler to create sets of POI's forfavorite chains of restaurants or coffee houses, for example. Theprocess involves capturing data and formatting it in a database filecompatible with the map program, and then importing it, where theaddresses are geocoded. The geocoding process, however, is subject tothe same accuracy problems described above, and some programs do abetter job than others in informing which points where mapped accuratelyby street address, and which were mapped to a less accurate locationlike a city, or zip code, and which were not mapped at all.

Some programs provide the user with mapping location options during theimport process, others do not. Some programs identify specifically howeach point was mapped, others do not. None of the programs, however,make it easy or convenient to correct the records that were inaccuratelymapped, nor do they capture any information on the mapping locationoptions presented during the import process. The address information inthe exported data set, where an exporting function is available, isidentical to that imported. So the extra time and effort spend inresearching and resolving options presented during importing, is lost.

The above process applies similarly to the importing of a businesscontact file from a contact management, sales force automation, orcustomer relationship management (CRM) type of program. These contactmanagement programs make it easy to store and find contact information,such as names, addresses and telephone numbers. The more sophisticated,higher-end programs provide reporting functions and allow several peoplein a workgroup to access the same database of contacts. MicrosoftOutlook and ACT! are an examples of contact management programs, whileSalesLogix, GoldMine, TeleMagic, Maximizer are examples of team-basedsoftware packages, which synchronize or centralize the sales automationand CRM functions. Some of the business mapping programs, like MapPointand BusinessMap, provide links to map the contact database from contactmanagement programs, but the mapping process again requires addressgeocoding, and is therefore subject to the same accuracy problemsdescribed above. Again, none of the programs make it easy or convenientto correct the records that are inaccurately mapped.

Mapping programs fall under the category of GIS (Geographic InformationSystem) programs, which in turn are related to CAD (Computer AidedDesign) and CADD (Computer Aided Design and Drafting) programs ordevelopment tools, hereafter referred to as just CAD. Many of the morepopular GIS programs have evolved from, or merged with CAD programs, orare CAD programs with GIS extensions. In these programs, data isorganized and stored into thematic layers in data files.

GIS programs used by infrastructure personnel, city planners and civilengineers at municipalities, have captured and created separate maplayers for such things as; water pipes, gas lines, street lights,sewers, storm drains, fire hydrants, traffic lights, cable line,electrical lines.

Some of the earliest CAD applications, dating back to the early 80's,focused on capturing electrical schematics and laying out printedcircuit boards (PCB's). The PCB CAD layout programs employed separatelayers to capture each set of characteristics of the board, including;the bottom (solder side copper trace) layer, the top (component sidecopper trace) layer, the physical outline of the printed circuit board,thru hole locations and diameters, the solder mask, and the silk screenlegend. These all were registered to the same grid or common coordinatesystem. PCB designers could view a composite or any combination oflayers during the board layout process. The top side copper trace layerwas viewed in one color, and the bottom layer traces in another.

There is a significant difference between GIS programs and travel orbusiness map programs, and how they handle POI's. The GIS programs fallmore into CAD-based development tools or authoring tools category. GISprograms are used to create and maintain (update) a continuouslyincreasing number of information data layers. These programs haveextensive control over the viewing of all the thematic layers, forexample; the order in which the layers are viewed (which layer is ontop), fading layers in and out, assigning of symbols, colors, and linewidths, shading, etc., to any point, line or area (polygon) in anylayer. These programs require an extensive amount of training andexperience to become proficient in their use.

On the other hand, the travel or business map programs are notdesign/development tools. They are meant to be simple to use, easy tolearn application programs, functioning more like a lightweight GIS dataviewer with respect to the POI's supplied in the program. While thePOI's included in the travel or business programs can be turned on andoff, they cannot be modified, edited, enhanced, deleted or added to bythe user.

Some of the travel and/or business mapping programs allow external datarecords to be imported or linked into their programs. During the importprocess, address fields are identified to allow geo-coordinates to bedeveloped from the street address. Imported records then appear aspushpins on the map, which can be assigned unique pushpin symbols, orcolors, allowing multiple data sets to be imported and remain uniquelyidentifiable. However, the importing process, and the manipulation,control and display of the imported data in currently available productsleaves much room for improvement.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is illustrated by way of example, and not by wayof limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings and in whichlike reference numerals refer to similar elements and in which:

FIG. 1 is an overview of a travel or business mapping system with auser-updateable map layer for collecting, storing, manipulating anddisplaying points of interest, or POI's.

FIGS. 2A and B show how maps are comprised of multiple layers.

FIG. 3A is a sample map diagram showing varieties of POI's, some withtheir information windows fully open, displaying examples of enhancedinformation. It also shows use of a file folder system to store anddisplay POI's.

FIG. 3B shows how advertising can play a role in a mapping program.

FIG. 4 shows the options for selecting the level of display and theamount of information displayed, enacted on one individual POI.

FIG. 5 shows the operations which can be performed on a folder in afolder list column.

FIG. 6A shows how the folder list operations are applied to a mappingprogram.

FIGS. 6B, 6 C, 6 D and 6 E show the options and affects for selectingthe level of display and the amount of information displayed, enacted enmasse for all of one type of POI, and for all POI's. They also show theoptions for selecting the level of display and the amount of informationdisplayed, enacted on all POI's which were marked as “favorites.”

FIGS. 7A and B show examples of the properties selections/settings forthe POI's.

FIG. 8 shows how a non-folder based scheme could be used to implementthe same functions described with a folder list.

FIGS. 9A and 9B show additional, improved controls for a search resultslisting.

FIGS. 10, 11, and 12 show symbols used to mark POI's, and the use ofcomplementary symbols.

FIG. 13 is a flow diagram of the process to capture POI information fromPOI managers.

FIGS. 14A and B and FIGS. 15A and B show the process and benefits ofusing geo-coordinates to locate POI's at airports and shopping malls.

FIG. 16 shows an improved dialog box for relocating a geo-coded addressto a more representative location.

FIG. 17 is a flow diagram of the processes for downloading POI's from acentralized Internet based website into a mapping program.

FIG. 18 contains a block diagram of the mapping program, and shows theimport/export interfacing with contact management applications andmapping programs in hand-held and in-vehicle navigation systems.

FIG. 19 shows an improved contact management record with addressverification and correction displays.

FIG. 20 shows efficiency improvements in managing larger amounts of POIinformation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION 1. Overview

Information mapping approaches are described. In the followingdescription, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific detailsare set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of thepresent invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in theart that the present invention may be practiced without these specificdetails. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shownin block diagram form in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring thepresent invention.

One embodiment relates to improved methods, systems and applications forupdating, enhancing, organizing, and utilizing geographic maps, morecommonly referred to as travel maps or business maps, for locatingpoints of interest and places of businesses, or POI's. In oneembodiment, the present disclosure provides improved use of travel andbusiness mapping programs as a means of quickly delivering enhanced POIinformation, information which goes beyond the typically provided name,address, phone number data.

In one embodiment, a better, more effective means of locating POI's isprovided, and the aforementioned enhanced information, eliminatingtime-consuming and sometimes fruitless searches. Various embodimentsalso provide an improved more effective method for collectinggeographical coordinate data on POI's; a better means of updating mapprograms with current and time-dependent POI information; a map programwhere a subset of the resident, personalized POI's may be selected fordownloading into an in-vehicle navigation system or moretravel-friendly, hand-held device; an improved method for locatingmarkers on an Internet-based search engine map; and an improved contactmanagement system which minimizes address geocoding.

One embodiment provides an improved travel mapping or business mappingprogram where supplemental, qualitative POI information is effectivelyintegrated into a map program, providing the ability to assess the“what” and the “where” simultaneously, on multiple POI's, without havingto perform another search or go to another source of information.

Another embodiment provides that the supplemental, qualitativeinformation fields associated with each type of place of business orpoint of interest (POI) on a mapping program, can be unique to each typeof POI, and need not be limited to containing standard fields of dataacross all data sets.

Yet another embodiment shows how a mapping program is an effective baseor medium for an information delivery system, especially forgeographically locatable objects, and how it is especially useful fordelivering types of information found in travel guides, or in deliveringadvertising information, or in providing links to booking on-lineinternet reservations.

Still another embodiment provides an improved travel mapping or businessmapping program, where map layers containing information and needingmore frequent updating, including time-dependent or seasonalinformation, are updated independently of other more stable and lessfrequently updated map layers.

In another embodiment, a mapping program has improved methods oforganizing POI's using a personalized file folder system, where sets ofPOI's can be moved into different folders, where sets of POI's can beindividually selected and synchronized to a centralized database ofPOI's, and where the same type of folder system is additionally used toselect POI's for downloading into an in-vehicle navigation system or ahand-held palm type device.

Another embodiment provides an improved method of delivering POI's formapping onto a travel or business map program, or onto an Internet-basedmap, without requiring their addresses to be geo-coded every time thePOI is mapped.

Another embodiment provides an improved method of displaying POI's on amapping program, in which the level of information displayed on thePOI's is controlled or operated upon en masse, using an enriched set ofinformation display control commands.

Yet another embodiment provides methods of marking individual, preferredPOI's as favorites for independent treatment.

Still another embodiment provides an improved method of collectinginformation on POI's, which utilizes participation of the businessowners or designated employees of the POI's to verify, correct andprovide information on the POI's, including accurate geo-coordinatelocation information, and which utilizes their participation in thecreating of map objects such as buildings to aid in showing the locationof a POI associated with the objects.

A further embodiment provides an improved contact management system,which provides a more effective means of matching contact addresses to amap, and which eliminates redundant geocoding.

In other aspects, the invention encompasses a computer apparatus and acomputer-readable medium configured to carry out the foregoing steps.

2. Mapping System Example

FIG. 1 is an overview of a travel or business mapping system 100 with auser-updateable map layer 101 for collecting, storing, manipulating anddisplaying points of interest, or POI's. Hereafter, the term POI (PointOf Interest) will be used broadly to include points of interest, placesof business, home locations, landmarks, and any other places which mightbe visited, and which could appear as a geographically referenced placeon a map. An Internet accessible, centralized POI Database (website) 102is used to collect and verify POI data 103 from businesses, classifiedadvertisers, or other geographically referenced points of interest. ThePOI business contact (owner or manager) 104 verifies and corrects, ifnecessary, the physical location of where the POI is to be shown on themap, enters and/or updates the contact information and qualitativeinformation for the POI, and enters or updates advertising informationfields 103.

With reference to FIG. 1, the Internet accessible centralized POIDatabase website 102 is also used to selectively distribute (asindicated by path 116) the collected POI information 103 to owners ofmap programs 106 having user-updateable map layers 101, based on thepersonal preferences of the user. Users select (or sign-up for) the POIdata sets that they are interested in downloading into the POI folder107 on their map. This includes identifying or defining a geographicalarea for each POI data set of interest. This establishes a user profile105. On return visits, their user profile 105 is used to provide POIdata updates for the data sets previously selected.

Users can choose from downloading more complete sets of data, allrestaurants for example, to downloading subsets of the data, for exampleonly fast food chains, or only one or two specific fast food chains. Aseach data set is selected, a geographic area of interest is alsoselected, i.e., selected by country, state, zip code, city, etc, or by aradius around a point location, or by a custom defined area (polygon).

As shown in FIG. 1, POI data sets may also be available or downloaded117 from independent websites 107 conforming to POI data set formattingand downloading specifications.

The mapping program 106 can also interface with a contact managementapplication program 108 installed on the computing device 109 to allowcontacts from these contact management programs 108 to be mapped andviewed using the same type of graphical user interface (GUI) as used tomap and view the POI data sets.

In another embodiment, mapping program 106 may be implemented as aserver-based application that is hosted in association with internetdatabase 102. In this embodiment, computing devices 109, 110, 111 use aconventional Web browser to access the mapping program 106, view maps,and perform map manipulation functions. Users may register at internetdatabase 102 and receive accounts. A separate copy of updateable maplayers 101 and POI file folder system 107, or data representing them,are hosted at internet database 102 for use by each account. Allgraphical user interface functions and map data processing functionsthat are described in the following sections may be implemented in suchan embodiment.

In-vehicle navigation systems 110 and more portable, travel-friendlyhand-held devices 111 with mapping application programs 106 withuser-updateable map layers 101, can be updated with POI data setsdirectly 116, 117 from the Internet websites 102, 107 in a similarfashion as the PC-based computing device 109, or updated from thePC-based computing device 118. The latter has the advantage of includingcontacts from the contact management system 108.

The “updatable” attribute of the preferred embodiment mapping system 100offers an opportunity to include an advertising component, similar tothat found in periodicals. In the present approach, the advertising isin a mapping application program, rather than in a magazine or otherpublication. A number of advertising approaches exist. One approach isto include advertising blurbs, in the form of taglines, POIdescriptions, or advertised specials, within the information data setfor individual POI's 103, which then appear in the information balloons301. A second approach is to download and update advertising within themap program on a broader scale, to include pop-up or selectable ads,which are not specific to any one POI, but may be associated with a POIdata set. The Global Advertisers link 112 to the Internet Databasewebsite 102 to place ads 113, therefore, the mapping system 100 alsoprovides for companies desiring to advertise at this higher or broaderlevel within the mapping program 106.

Each layer 200 is a collection of features that share some commoncharacteristic, while all the layers share a common coordinate system201. The various physical aspects of the map—land boundaries, lakes 203,rivers 204, borders for country, state, county, city, and zip code,railroads, roads 205, POI's 206, and so forth—are assigned to layers200. When the various layers are overlaid, they form a map 202 asillustrated in FIGS. 2A and B.

The number of thematic layers 200 can be further separated, and divideddown to any level of detail. For example, roads can include separatelayers for Interstate highways, state highways, county highways, majorroads, streets, walkways, hiking trails, and highway exits. On travel orbusiness mapping programs, POI's can include separate layers forlandmarks, airports, train stations, parks, campgrounds, hospitals,ATMs, bus stations, hotels, golf courses, wineries, schools, theaters,gas stations, parking lots, restaurants, etc. Any of these layers couldbe further divided down or categorized by price, ethnicity, ratings, orby classifications used in the yellow pages.

FIG. 3A shows an example of a mapping program 300 which utilizes amethod according to the present invention. Points of interest and placesof business (POI) icons 302 are assigned to geographically referenceddata sets 305, and appear under the Points of Interest Folder 303, inthe left hand Folder List column 304. The data sets to be displayed onthe map are selected from the Folder List 304, and can appear as iconsonly 306, or as an icon 307 with an associated information box orballoon 301. The data sets which have been selected for display on themap of FIG. 3A include Private, Military and Public Golf Courses andDriving Ranges (308), Kinko's (Copy Places) 309, Starbuck's (CoffeeHouses) 310, and Wineries 311. The displaying of POI data and the amountof information displayed for each POI is controllable from both thefolder list 304 and by direct selection of a POI icon 306, 307 on themap. The information display level for an entire POI data set iscontrolled from the folder list 304. The selected sets then appear onthe map as selectable icons 306, 307, where the information level foreach can be changed individually.

FIG. 3A shows a number of fully open information boxes or balloons 301,321, 326, depicting the variety of qualitative information 313 thatmight be provided with each POI. For example in FIG. 3A, the two GolfCourse information boxes include not only the basic telephone bookinformation 312, i.e., name of the course, address and phone number, butuseful supplemental, qualitative information 313 including the Type ofcourse (Private, Public, Military, Resort, Municipal, etc), the numberof holes, the course statistics (Par, Rating, Slope, Yardage), cost(range of greens fees), the Golf Digest Rating, the course designer, adescription of the course as provided by the golf course, a Websiteaddress, and a website link to book a reservation. These informationballoons 301, 321, 326 could also show additional useful informationsuch as user ratings, an email address, other course amenities (drivingrange, practice green, etc.). If the computing device 114 is connectedto the Internet 115, clicking on one of the website addresses 314 wouldconnect the user to the courses listed web page, and clicking on theBook-it link 315 would connect the user to a golf tee time reservationwebsite. FIG. 3A includes examples of other POI's. As a second example,supplemental information 316 on the Wineries includes; whether winetasting is available and its cost, the hours of operation, aninformation blurb on the winery, information on upcoming events, and awebsite link.

In FIG. 3A, an Advertising Bar 317 is shown just below the map section318. The advertising selections 319 appearing in this bar are displayedin association with the last active (selected) POI, or POI set. In thisexample, golf oriented advertising selections 319 appear coincidentallywith the opening of one of the golf course information boxes 321.Selecting the advertising button labeled “Golf Travel Acc . . . ” 320,retrieves and displays the downloaded global advertisement 322. FIG. 3Bshows an example of this. The advertisement 322 is not limited to onepage, and could include a number of hyperlinked pages, or larger,scrollable pages. If the computing device 114 is connected to theInternet 115, clicking on any website links from within theadvertisement 323 would hyperlink the user to the directed website. Anexample of one such link 323 is shown in the lower right-hand corner ofthe advertisement 322.

Selections displayed on the advertising buttons can change, for example,as POI's associated with a different POI set are active (selected last).Not all the POI sets will necessarily have associated advertisingselections, but for example, if a POI or set of POI's from the CarDealers folder 324 were to be selected, advertising placed by vehiclemanufacturers, or a company in the automotive industry, could beselected from a new set of advertising buttons 319.

FIG. 4 shows how the amount of information displayed for any individualPOI 401 can be altered, in one embodiment. In this example, rightclicking on the Shoreline Golf Links information box or balloon 402,opens a dialog box 403 with a set of commands or functions 404 which canbe performed on the POI. This includes commands to set the informationdisplay level 405. The highest (most information) level is set using theShow All Information command 406 where all the available data fields forthe POI are displayed in the information box 402, as shown in theShoreline Golf Links information balloon. The next lower level ofinformation display is selected with the Show Basic Info Only command407. This sets the POI to display basic, telephone book contact typeinformation 312, i.e., name, address and phone number, as shown in thePicchetti Winery information box 301. The lowest information displaylevel shows the name of the POI. This is selected using the Show NameOnly command 408. An example of this is shown in the Ridge Vineyardsinformation box (label) 409. The Close Label command 410 closes theinformation box completely, where only the icon symbol is displayed. TheHide Marker command 411 removes the icon (and all information) from themap, without deleting it from the data set.

Command buttons to perform these same functions, that is to increase ordecrease the information display level, or to close the information box,also appear in the upper right hand corner of each information displaybox as [−], [+], and [x] boxes. The [x] button 415 is a standardMicrosoft Windows close button, and performs the same function as theClose Label selection 410. The [−] and [+] controls 413, 414 are used todecrease or increase the information display level, respectively. In oneembodiment, the buttons serve to ratchet the information display levelup or down, rather than minimizing or maximizing it. For example, theShoreline Golf Links information box 402 is already at its highestlevel. Therefore, only the decrease [−] button 416 and close [x] button417 are displayed. In this case, clicking on the decrease [−] button 416would set the information display level to show Basic Info 407.Similarly, the Picchetti Winery information box 412 can be ratcheted upto Show All Information 406 with the increase [+] button 415, or down toa label only 408 with the decrease [−] button 413. Since the RidgeVineyards information box 409 is already at its minimum (a label), itcan be ratcheted up with the increase [+] button 418, or closed with the[x] button 419.

In this information display ratcheting operation, each informationdisplay is assigned a number with the Show Name Only level being thelowest, and the Show All Information level being the highest. When the[−] and [+] controls 413, 414 are selected, the information displayed isratcheted down or up, respectively, to correspond with the assigneddisplay number. While this embodiment uses three information leveldisplays, with each showing an increasing amount of information, inalternative embodiments any number of information display configurationscan be created that associate different groupings of information. Suchconfigurations could include, for example, only the phone number, orjust the qualitative information without the address or phone number.Thus, the controls 413, 414 need not increment or decrement levels, andneed not cause changes among levels according to a sequential order.

In the preferred embodiment, once these information levels are set forthe POI's, they are unaffected by map zoom level. Information boxoverlapping will occur, however, clicking on any portion of anyinformation box 402 or label 409 will bring it to the front (mostvisible top layer). As the map is zoomed in or out, the size of the iconand the size of the information box or font size may be moderatelyreduced, but it remains viewable and discernable.

FIG. 4 also shows a Mark As Favorite command 420. With this command, theuser can identify and select specific POI's for special treatment, whichwill be explained later in the description.

In one embodiment, the POI's reside in a file folder system, whichallows POI sets to be stored in personalized folders 421 and subfolders422. The operation and development of a file folder system, which allowsthe creating, coping, moving, deleting, renaming of folders, is wellknown by software developers in the industry. For example, referring toFIG. 5, in Microsoft's Outlook 500, incoming emails can be directedautomatically into any one of a number of folders 509 created by theuser, using rules created in the Inbox Organizer and Rules Wizard 505,or emails can be manually moved from its Inbox 510 into existing ornewly created folders 509, or deleted. FIG. 5 shows a portion of asample Microsoft Outlook Folder List 501. Right clicking on any folder502 opens a dialog box 503, showing commands 504 for folders to becopied, moved, deleted, renamed or created. In FIG. 5, the dialog box503 has been activated by right clicking on the Automotive Links folder502 (highlighted). FIG. 5 also shows Microsoft's Inbox Organizer 505,which allows rules 506 to be created to move incoming email messages 507into specific folders 508 based on a large choice of criteria.

FIG. 6A shows how a file folder scheme 601, shown in the left handcolumn, can be used to organize POI's. When a user visits theInternet-based centralized POI website 102, described in FIG. 1, todownload an update of the POI's in his user profile 105, the downloadedPOI sets are automatically directed to specific folders in the Folderlist 304. If the user chooses, the downloaded files may also be sent tothe POI Inbox folder 602, which is the default download folder, andmoved later, either manually or with the Inbox Organizer functions.

As shown in FIG. 1, sets of POI's may be downloaded into the POI Inbox602 from other, independent websites 107, that follow a specifiedinterface and data format. As an example of this, the Zagat's RestaurantRatings 603 may have been obtained from a Zagat's website, and not fromthe centralized POI distribution website 102 in FIG. 1. Right clickingon the Zagat's Restaurant Ratings folder 603 brings up a dialog box 604,with file folder manipulation commands 605 similar to the Outlookcommands 504 shown in FIG. 5. Any personally created folder can bemoved, deleted, renamed or copied. In one embodiment, “Points ofInterest—All” folder 303 and the POI Inbox folder 602, shown at the topof the column, the Deleted Items folder 606, shown at the bottom of thecolumn, and the Favorites folder 607 shown near the center of thecolumn, are permanent folders that cannot be deleted or moved, orrenamed.

The dialog boxes 604, 608 in FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B also show how theamount of information or information level for an entire set of POI'scan be altered en masse, with information level commands 609 similar tothose 405 exercised on an individual POI and described in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6B shows a dialog box open for the Golf Courses folder 610.Selecting the Show Name Only command 611 would result in all DrivingRanges 612 and Military 613, Private 614 and Public courses 615 in thesubfolders under the Golf Courses folder 610 to be displayed on the mapwith their names. The result of performing this command is shown in FIG.6C. To accomplish this same name opening function on existing mappingprograms would require a separate operation to be performed on eachindividual POI, one at a time.

The Properties selection 616, shown at the bottom of the dialog box 604,608, allows customization of a number of data set display elements. Twoof these include selecting an icon (map symbol) 702 to represent aparticular data set, and selecting the data fields 701 which are to bedisplayed in the information box for the highest (All Information) levelof display. In an embodiment in which the number of qualitativeinformation fields is larger, the amount of information displayed at thehighest level in the All Information box 402 can be limited by selectingthe qualitative information fields to be displayed. This allows the userto only display information fields which are important, and to limit thesize of the of the information box displayed on the map. FIGS. 7A and 7Bshow examples of these two Properties commands for icon selection anddata field selection, respectively. In FIG. 7B, for example, the Faxnumber 703 is not displayed.

As additional examples of how POI information can be changed en masse,FIG. 6D and FIG. 6E show the resulting displays if the Show Basic InfoOnly 618 or the Show All Information 617 commands had been selected,respectively, from the dialog box 608 in FIG. 6B.

Referring to FIG. 6C, a check box 619 appears in front of each POI'sicon in the Folder list 304, which reflects whether POI's from eachfolder are displayed on the map. If all of the POI's within a folder aredisplayed on the map, either as an icon (symbol) only, or accompaniedwith some level of information, then the box is displayed with a black(bold) check mark. This can be seen in any of the golf related folders620, for example. If only a portion if the POI's within a folder arebeing displayed, then the check box is shown with a grayed or ghostedcheck mark. An example of this appears in front of the Coffee Housesfolder 621, as the Starbucks POI's 622 have been selected for display,but not any of the other coffee houses 623; i.e. Caribou, Pasqua, etc.These check boxes 619 are control boxes as well as status boxes.Clicking on any of these, will either add or remove POI's from thedisplay.

In one embodiment, clicking on a blank [ ] check box 619, will cause thePOI's in the selected folder to be displayed on the map with the samelevel information that they were last displayed with. Clicking on afully selected folder (bold check mark) 620, will remove these POI'sfrom the display, having the same effect as the Hide Markers command624. Clicking on a partially displayed set of POI's (grayed or ghostedcheck box) 621 will remove any of the displayed POI's from the map andclear the check box. To turn off, or clear all POI's being displayed onthe map, one would only need to click on the top-most Points ofInterest—All folder 303. All of the above described information displayfunctions can be used with the “Points of Interest—All” folder 303,allowing for example, all POI's to be displayed at a selected level.

FIGS. 6B and 6C show a folder labeled as Favorites 607 near the centerof the Folder List 304. This folder contains links to POI's that wereindividually marked by the user as being preferred, special or unique,using the Mark As Favorite command 420 described with FIG. 4.Functionally, this approach allows the user to quickly display, orchange the information display level of, all the POI's which hadpreviously been marked as being interesting, without having to look forthem. The Delete command function 625, shown in the dialog box of FIG.6B, when applied to the Favorites folder 607, will delete or remove enmasse all the POI's marked as favorites from the folder, but not fromthe application database. In various alternatives, the Favorites folderfunctionality can be implemented by using either a duplicate recordapproach, where copies are made of the records, or a linked objectapproach, where links to the original record are provided.

The methods of providing enhanced, qualitative information, in additionto the telephone book contact information, as taught above, can beapplied to any number of places or points of interest; restaurants couldhave travel guide ratings and price ranges, antique shops could includea description of the type of antiques carried or specialized in, skiresorts could include elevation, the number of runs or lifts, orshopping malls could include a listing of the major anchor stores.Alternatively, individual stores could be displayed on the map within anoutline of the shopping mall itself.

In addition, the file folder approach in combination with the copycommand could be used to create themed folders containing copies ofother folders. For example, a folder labeled “Traveling” might containcopies of the Public Golf Courses, Driving Ranges, Starbucks, andZagat's Restaurant Ratings. Clicking on the Traveling folder check box,would then place all these travel related POI's on the map with oneclick.

FIG. 8 shows how the unique functionality described above using a filefolder system could be implemented in a non-foldered arrangement 801, asis the case when data sets are imported into Microsoft Streets and Tripsor Microsoft MapPoint. This data set arrangement includes uniquecommands for setting the information display levels of POI's en masse,as shown in the dialog box 802. The addition of non-deleteable “All” 803and “Favorites” 804 selections within the data set area allows the abovedescribed information display level functions 805 to be applied to allthe data sets at one time, or to the POI's which are marked as part ofthe Favorites set 804.

As described with FIG. 2, maps are comprised of many different oflayers. In one alternative, a travel or business map may include anon-updateable POI layer. Further, a travel or business map may allowthe importing of a POI data set, where POI's can be selectably mapped.In both these cases, a find command may be used to search for particularPOI's of interest. Certain implementations of the find function 901,only allow one POI at a time to be selected for mapping, or to bepreviewed on the map. An example of this is shown in FIG. 9A, where asearch for White Castle restaurants was performed 902. The resultingdialog box 903 only allows one listing to be selected (highlighted) at atime 904, while the map shows a preview of the location 905. When the OKbutton 906 is pressed, a pushpin (marker) is placed on the map and thedialog box 903 is closed, ending the search. To view more than onelocation on the map at a time, or to create a set of all the WhiteCastles in a particular area, the above process would have to berepeated multiple times for each listed POI 907.

FIG. 9B shows a Find function in which the results of a White Castlesearch are listed in a dialog box 908, accompanied by a check box 909 infront of each listing. This allows more than on POI at a time to beselected for viewing on the map, without having to perform the samesearch repeatedly.

Also provided are Check All 910 and Uncheck All 911 buttons to improveefficiencies in selecting listings. Using this technique, all theselected listings will be shown in the map at the same time. In oneembodiment, these selected or captured listings can be brought into thepersonalized file folder scheme as a new data set.

If it is the intent or desire of the user to just select the one, mostappropriate POI, as opposed to creating and adding a new data set to thepersonalized file folder scheme, the Check All button 910 can be used tosplash all the listing on the map, whether applicable or not, forlocation viewing. In many cases, the most appropriate or desirable POIis the closest to a particular location. In this case, it is moreeffective to view and select from all the potential candidates whilethey are on the map, rather than from a sorted listing 912. Again if itwas the intent to just select one, most appropriate POI, it could thenbe added to the Favorites folder 607 or moved to a personalized folderusing the Move to Folder command 423 shown in the dialog box of FIG. 4,while deleting the rest of the newly mapped data.

In this description, the terms “geographic coordinates,”“geo-coordinates,” and “geocodes” are used interchangeably to referbroadly to any approach for encoding a geographical location in a datarepresentation that can be manipulated by a computer. One example ofgeo-coordinates is a pair consisting of a latitude value and a longitudevalue. However, alternative embodiments may use any appropriate codingsystem, or any suitable coordinate system that is based on any desiredpoint of origin.

A variety of symbols or icons are used to mark POI's on a map. Whenthese symbols or icons are mapped to a particular location, a geocodedaddress for example, in past approaches the symbols generally have beencenter-located over the geo-coordinates. For some pushpin and flagsymbols, the end of the pin, or bottom of the flag pole, is located atthe geo-coordinate. Often when more than one POI is mapped to the samelocation or same address, the symbols stack-up or overlay, often onlyallowing only one symbol to be seen, while hiding the others. Thisoccurs when the symbols share the same shape or outline, or when alarger symbol is at the top of the stack. FIG. 10 shows an example of aset of icons sharing the same outline. For example, it is fairly commonfor a hotel, restaurant and bar to share the same street address, or fora golf facility to have multiple golf courses, or for many or all thestores and restaurants in a shopping mall to have the same streetaddress.

To address this problem, multi-part or complementary symbols are used inone embodiment. These symbols allow multiple POI's with the same addressor geo-location to be both viewed and selected. In the case of golfcourses, for example, primary and secondary symbols are used.

Referring to FIG. 11, the flag 1101, shown in FIG. 11A, is the primarysymbol, which appears with any golf facility. If the facility has morethan one course, secondary symbols 1103 are used to form the varioussymbol configurations 1102 shown in FIGS. 11B, 11 C, and 11 D.

FIG. 11E illustrates how these symbol configurations are made up ofindependently selectable elements 1103. The user can visually determinehow many courses are located at the facility, in this example up tofour, and independently select any element 1103 to open the qualitativeinformation box or balloon 1104 for each course. In the case of multiplegolf courses at the same facility, they more than likely all share thesame basic telephone book information 1105, i.e. address and phonenumber, but have different slopes, ratings, yardages, etc. as indicatedby reference numeral 1106.

FIG. 11F shows two additional symbols which were added to complement thegroup of golf courses at a golf facility. The symbol on the lower left1107 indicates the course is listed in a particular golf discount bookprogram, which is very similar to the more familiar “Entertainment” bookprogram, except it focuses on golf courses. The symbol in the lowerright 1108 indicates the course is participating the Golf Card program,which also offers golf discounts to card members. In the preferredembodiment, all six of these symbols can be mapped to the exact samegeo-coordinate, while remaining visible and selectable. FIG. 11N shows amapped example of a golf facility with three golf courses that alsoparticipates in one discount program 1110.

The offset mapping of symbols can be accomplished in a variety of ways.One such method is to offset the drawn symbol to an edge or corner of anoversized bit-mapped image frame 1109. Then as the symbol frames 1109are center located (registered) to the geo-coordinate, the icons willappear around the center point. FIG. 11H-11M show how the sixcomplementary symbols appearing in FIG. 11F were created within the sameframe size, indicated by the dashed lines.

Another example includes the mapping of the “Entertainment” books, whichoffer discounts for restaurants, sporting events, accommodations, movietickets, etc. These discount book and discount card program examplesshow how information which is related or associated with a POI can bemapped and maintained independently of the information appearing withinthe POI information box 1104, and how additional complementary symbols1107, 1108 can be used to indicate the existence of something special orunique at the POI site. The application of this approach, however, isnot limited to discount programs and could easily apply, for example, tobooking reservations for hotel accommodations, golf tee times, ticketsto an event, or travel/vacation packages, or to purchasing other itemsor merchandise, or to indicating participation in AAA or AARP discountprograms, or to the locating of a golf instructor with his owninformation profile.

While these discount programs or “POI associated programs” may not bePOI's in themselves, in one embodiment they are mapped to the samelocation as the primary POI, and they may be downloaded from the samecentralized POI database 102 by the user. However, since the informationboxes associated with these symbols contain information supplemental tothe POI, they need not contain the standard telephone book information1105 (address and phone number) of the POI. In the example shown in FIG.11N, clicking on a POI associated program symbol 1110 reveals thedetails of the program 1111, in this case, it includes the discountoffered at the golf course 1112. However, in most of the applicationsand processes, the “POI associated programs” are operated upon andtreated the same as the POI's, and therefore, in cases where nodifferentiation is made, they should be assumed to be included as partof the POI's.

FIG. 12 shows how complementary symbols can be made by adding pointingpins 1201 to the descriptive or framed symbols shown in FIG. 10. As withpushpins, the end of the pin 1202 on these symbols is located to thegeo-coordinate, allowing multiple POI's having the same location to besimultaneously viewed on the map, as shown in FIG. 12F. If for example,all restaurant symbols 1203 were assigned a left descending pin (FIG.12B), all hotel symbols 1204 a right descending pin (FIG. 12A), all barsymbols 1205 a right ascending pin (FIG. 12C), and all shopping locationsymbols 1206 a left ascending pin (FIG. 12D), the user can visuallydetermine whether a hotel had a bar, a restaurant, or shoppingavailable.

Unlike, the primary/secondary symbol arrangement described in FIG. 11,where secondary symbols are somewhat dependent upon the presence of aprimary symbol, any of these complementary symbols shown in FIG. 12 arealso independently or individually mappable. This symbol pinningtechnique can be applied to commonly associated or commonly locatedPOI's, for example, for gas stations and service stations.Configurations having more than four elements can also be developed.FIG. 12G shows an example where information on discounts found in the“Entertainment” book can be mapped as a complementary symbol to thehotels 1204, restaurants 1203 and bars 1205, allowing the user toquickly see where discounts are offered and easily obtain details byclicking on the “Entertainment” book symbol 1207.

FIG. 13 shows a flowchart of an example process to capture POIinformation from a party. In this context, the terms “party” and“manager” broadly refer to anyone who is authorized to create or modifyPOI information or a POI location, or who has the knowledge andtrustworthiness appropriate to create or modify POI information or a POIlocation. For example, a party or manager may be the business contact,owner or manager of a POI 104, an authorized individual associated withthe owner or manager, etc. Upon entering the website at step 1301, theparty selects whether a new listing is to be created or an existinglisting is to be revised at step 1302. Following the Add a New Listingpath 1303 on the flowchart, business contact information is gathered atstep 1304; the information may include, for example, name, title, phonenumber(s), email address, mailing address, etc. Then a business categoryis selected from a listing of industry classifications and currentlyavailable POI data sets at step 1305. In cases where the business entitywas previously solicited to sign up for the POI listing service, thesolicitation ID number previously forwarded to the party is entered toidentify the appropriate business category, and/or to retrieve anyalready entered and available data on the POI.

Based on this business category selection, appropriate data entry formsspecific to the business category are retrieved from a database at step1306. This offers two advantages. First, it allows information specificto the business to be collected. For example, yardage, slopes, ratings,will be gathered for golf course listings, while tasting-relatedinformation will be gathered from wineries. Second, this allowsheightened use of drop-down list boxes to improve accuracy andconsistency of the collected data.

Data entry forms are used to collect consumer-oriented, qualitativeinformation on the POI at step 1308. This is information that will beshared with the public, appearing in the POI information boxes on themap. For any entered street addresses, a map of the entered location ispresented for location verification. The party is allowed to move thePOI marker to the correct or desired spot on the map, by navigating tothe location using commonly available map navigation controls.

In various alternatives, POI markers can be dragged and dropped, or theexact location of the POI can be double-clicked on. Instructions on howto move the marker, and suggestions on where to place it may beprovided. In the case of golf courses, for example, it is suggested tothe party to place the POI marker at the entrance or driveway of theproperty, rather than at the center of the property or at some internallocation that may not be obvious how to reach.

Once located, the geo-coordinates of the POI location are computedautomatically and stored.

In one embodiment, the party is also asked whether passing through agated entrance is required to gain entry to the POI. This is the case,for example, with some military facilities and gated communities, wherethe golf courses are located in the middle of a gated complex, and entrythrough a specific gate is required. If this is the case, the party ispresented with a map on which to identify the specific location of theentry gate(s), using a process similar to that used to confirm thelocation of the POI. Geo-coordinates for the entry gate(s) are thenstored with the record.

With the storing of a geo-coordinate for each location, the “address”itself does not need to be a complete street addresses; i.e. streetnumber, street, city, state, zip code, but instead can be more of adescriptive address. For example in the case of a Starbuck's location atan airport, it may be “Across from Gate A 5”, or “Just inside Westentrance” for a Starbuck's location at a shopping mall. Not all POIlocations are best described and located by a street address. In thepreferred embodiment, the business contact (POI manager), for example,will be able to manually locate the POI marker to a more representativelocation. FIG. 14A shows examples of two POI's, Starbuck's 1401 andOrange Julius 1402, which have been moved to a more representativelocation within the outline of a shopping mall 1403. They were bothoriginally mapped near the “X” on Saratoga Ave 1404. FIG. 14B showswhere an Internet, map-based search engine 1405 has located these sametwo POI's.

FIG. 15A shows another example of POI's which are not best representedby a street address. Two Starbuck's coffee shops 1501, 1502 and a Togo'srestaurant 1503 have been manually located within the outline of anairport terminal's buildings 1504, 1505. The information boxes 1506contain descriptive locations, which are better suited for airporttravelers. The street address mapping of these POI's had them stacked-upat 1661 Airport Blvd., as represented by the Togo's markers 1507 in thetravel mapping program of FIG. 15A, and the Internet-based map in FIG.15B. In the preferred embodiment, a Map Address dialog box 1601, asshown in FIG. 16, is used to verify the entered address 1602 and mappedlocation 1603 of the POI. The party can revise the entered addressand/or move the marker to a more representative location. In the case ofthe Togo's example used in FIG. 15A, a descriptive location address isentered, “Across from Gate C 6” 1508, after moving the marker 1603, 1503to a location within the airport terminal building boundaries 1505. Ifadditional navigation controls are required to reposition the marker,zooming in or out for example, the party can option to go to the fullmap program with the Go To Full Map button 1604.

The ability to draw shapes (boxes, circles, polygons, etc.) is afunction of some travel or business map programs and on GIS programs.For example, the outline of the shopping mall 1403 in FIG. 14A, and theoutlines of the two airport terminals 1504, 1505 in FIG. 15A, could bedrawn with drawing tools available in Microsoft Streets and Trips travelprogram. Any drawn shapes then can be registered to the commongeo-coordinate system 201 described with FIG. 2, so they can be importedinto and used in other mapping application programs.

In one embodiment, the Full Map Program is accessed by selecting the GoTo Full Map button 1604 shown on FIG. 16, which provides the user with adrawing toolbar (not shown) and the ability to draw on theInternet-based map 1605. In cases where the party desires to locate aPOI within, or with reference to, a building, a shopping mall or anairport terminal for example, and the building is not shown on the map,the party can elect to draw in details of a structure. The Full Mapprogram provides the party with drawing tools and the ability ofoverlaying an aerial photograph. The party can choose to draw in abuilding with or without the aerial photograph. The aerial photograph,however, provides additional reference points and may contain aphotograph of the building itself which can be traced over. Once thestructure is drawn, the aerial overlay is removed, and the party canproceed to position the POI in an appropriate location with respect tothe newly drawn building. The shape files for the buildings, which aredrawn by the POI business contacts, are stored and are integrated intothe mapping application, either as an updateable map layer download 116,or as part of the main mapping application program software 1803.

Referring again to FIG. 13, advertising oriented information is thencollected 1309, for display in the information boxes. The “Info”,“Spec”, and “Mar 28” fields 316 in the Picchetti Winery box 301, shownin FIG. 3A, are examples of entered advertising information for POI's.In this step of the process 1309, as it applies to the placing ofclassified ads which are to be downloaded to the map 325, classifiedadvertisers would enter descriptions of items being sold.

Still referring to FIG. 13, data is also gathered on thecommercially-oriented business information 1310, for example, names andcontact information of the primary personnel (owner, buyer, generalmanager, etc.), the size of the business (number of employees, salesvolumes, etc.), the facility type (privately owned, branch, franchise,etc.), the number of years in business, etc. These forms may be specificto the business category, and in the case of golf courses, forexample,—the forms may include requesting the names and contactinformation for the General Manager, Head Golf Professional, GreensSuperintendent, Pro Shop Manager, the number of rounds played annually,number of rounds played per month in peak season, etc. and the addressof the business office. If the business office location is differentfrom that of the POI, which for example occurs when the wine tastingroom is off-site from the main winery, a map of the entered businessoffice is presented for location verification and correction, asdescribed above. As with the POI location, geo-coordinates for thecommercially oriented business office are stored.

At the end of the data collection process, all collected information,including maps of all the locations, is presented for review and editing1311. Review and editing are followed by a billing and payment process1312.

The Change Existing Listing path 1314 near the top of FIG. 13, startswith a business contact verification step 1315, followed by any changesor updates to the business contact 1316. This is followed by a retrievalof the set of the latest, filled-in data collection forms that were usedto first create the POI listing, as described in the Add a New Listingpath 1303. The existing data is presented for review and updating by thebusiness contact 1317. This includes the relocating of any map locationmarkers 1311.

The order in which the various types of information are gathered in theprocess outlined in FIG. 13 is not critical.

A portion of the processes in FIG. 13 are also used by the managers of“POI associated program” businesses to enter or update details on theirprogram for each POI with a few variations. The “POI associated program”manager selects and identifies each participating POI to which anassociation will be established from the centralized POI databaselistings 103. Since the geo-locations of the POI's are controlled(positioned) by the POI managers, the geo-coordinates assigned to each“POI associated program” record are linked to the POI database records.The geo-coordinates downloaded with the “POI associated program” recordsare extracted from the POI records, ensuring that both are located tothe same geo-coordinates on the map. It should be noted, that in somecases, the POI manager and the “POI associated program” manager can beone and the same. For example, golf instructors working out of a golfcourse, may have their own information profile containing for example,lesson rates, a personal email address or phone number, areas ofspecialization, etc., and may also be the person responsible formaintaining the course information appearing on the map.

FIG. 17 shows a flowchart of the processes for downloading POIinformation from a centralized, Internet-based website 102 to a mappingprogram 106 with updateable POI layers 101. Upon entering the website atstep 1701, the user is identified at step 1702 as either an existinguser at step 1704, that is someone who has previously visited thewebsite and has registered their mapping application software, or a newuser at step 1703. New users at step 1703 are required to establish auser ID and Password at step 1705, and register their mappingapplication software at step 1706. The new users at step 1703 may havepurchased the mapping program software prior to visiting the website,and the purpose of their visit may be to register the software at step1706 and to obtain their first free update of the data sets that areresident on the purchased software. The data set or sets that areresident on the purchased software, golf courses in the US or wineriesin California, for example, serves to establish a base user profile atstep 1709. In the case where the user has not yet purchased one of these“starter CD's” containing the basic mapping application program 106 anda resident updateable data set, he can do so by placing one in hisshopping cart, as part of the registration process.

New users, and existing users who have completed the user verificationprocess at step 1708, are presented with an overview of the data setsand geographic areas in their current user profile. At this point theycan choose to either proceed to download updates for their current dataset selections at step 1715, or choose to add to, revise or renewsubscriptions, or just browse the available POI data sets, by selectingthe Add New or Browse Data Sets path at step 1711, or choose the“On-Demand” location specific retrieval path at step 1719 aimed at userswith computing devices with limited memory space.

Users selecting the Add New or Browse Data Sets path at step 1711 arepresented a listing of available data set selections in a folder formatsimilar to that used in the Folder List column 304 of the mappingapplication, shown in FIGS. 3, 4 and 6, where folders are expandable toreveal lower level data set selections, and check boxes 619 are used toselect the desired data sets at step 1713. With each data set selection,a geographic area at step 1714 is also selected. Users can select thesegeographic areas by country, state, zip code, city, area code, or by aradius around a point location, or by a custom defined area (polygon),or by combinations of these.

The combinations of data sets and territorial coverage for each make upthe user profile 105. For example, a user profile 105 might be comprisedof, public golf courses in North America, wineries in California andWashington, Starbuck's in the US, a particular golf discount program,five-star restaurants within 25 miles of downtown Chicago, and hardware,auto parts and liquor stores within a 15 mile radius of a particularaddress.

A map 1604 is displayed to draw the boundaries of any custom drawngeographic areas, and/or to confirm the center point address locationsof any scribed areas by radius, using processes described above withFIG. 16. Users can access the Full Map Program by selecting the Go ToFull Map button 1604 shown on FIG. 16, to use the map drawing tools toidentify a geographic area for a particular selected data set.

During the process of browsing the data sets for selection or renewal1711, any existing data set selections (old profile) may be presentedfor modification 1712. In cases where the user has opted to decrease thegeographic coverage for a particular data set, or where a data set isnot being renewed, the user may be asked whether the previouslydownloaded POI's, which are not being updated, should be removed fromthe existing map. The user can choose to either keep or delete them.

Once the POI data set selection process is completed, the user's profileis updated at step 1716 and payment is collected for any additionalcharges at step 1717, and the selected data sets, and any associateddatabases and database header updates, are downloaded at step 1718 forinstallation into the mapping program 106. The download includes anynecessary updates to the building structures (airport terminals,shopping malls, strip malls, etc.) layer.

While this description of an embodiment has organized most of the POI'sfor downloading into business category listings, this is an example andshould not be construed as a limitation. POI's on garage sales,festivals and shows, and discount card or coupon book programs alreadydo not fall into the business category scheme, and it is anticipatedthat POI's will be available as downloadable data sets in otherorganized selection categories, for example by city, where a userplanning to visit a particular city could select to download allavailable tourist related POI's for a particular city or area,including, for example, museums, nightclubs, sightseeing tours, casinos,spas, theme parks, theaters, galleries, etc. As another example, POI'smay be grouped or bundled for downloading by interest, for example, campsites, RV areas, hiking trails, and parks (national and state).

The process for downloading the commercially oriented POI data sets mayuse the foregoing process, with some minor detail variations, such asverifying user eligibility to access confidential information.

Table 1 shows an overview of the data fields and types of data fieldsassociated with each POI.

TABLE 1 POI Data Record Fields Item Field Description Comment A BusinessCategory, Main Upper portion of the RIN key field B Business Category,Sub Middle portion of the RIN key field C Sequential ID Number Lowerportion of the RIN key field D Basic Contact Data Fields E QualitativeInformation Data Fields F Geo-coordinates G Date Stamp H Default SymbolIdentifies records shown with Assignment secondary symbols I SecondaryRecord J Remove Record Assigned at reconfiguration of user profile KUser Symbol Assignment Assigned by user L POI Folder Assignment Assignedby user M Favorite Record Folder Assigned by user Assignment

The Record Identification Number (RIN) is the primary or key field, andis formed by combining the Main Business Category (code number), the SubBusiness Category (code number) and the Sequential ID number in an A-B-Cformat. This number is unique for every POI. The Basic Contact datafields include the standard telephone book type information; i.e. name,address and telephone number, as described previously. The QualitativeInformation data fields can be unique to each Main Business Category andSub Business Category combination (A-B combination). The Geo-coordinatefields contain confirmed latitude and longitude related readings. TheDate Stamp is used to identify the most current of two records havingthe same RIN. A Default Symbol (POI icon marker) is assigned to eachPOI's Business Category and Sub Business Category combination. TheSecondary Record is a one bit field indicating the record is associatedwith a primary record, and is to be displayed with a secondary symbol(marker) 1103, 1107, 1108 as described with FIG. 11.

The Remove Record field is a one bit field and is used to identifyobsolete POI records or records to be removed from the user's mapdatabase. The fields identified by items A-J in Table 1 are downloadedfrom the centralized Internet POI database 102 and are processed by thePOI Inbox Organizer 1801, shown in FIG. 18. The last three fields inTable 1, K-M, are assigned by the user, and reside in the Map Database1802, shown in FIG. 18. If the user had selected a different symbol(marker) 702 to represent a particular data set, as described with FIG.7A, the new symbol assignment (code) resides in the User SymbolAssignment field (K). The folder assignment is captured (L) as are anyFavorite Record folder assignments (M).

Referring to FIG. 18 and Table 1, the new downloaded POI records arematched against existing (old) POI records in the Map Database 1802 byusing the RIN. Data in the user assigned fields (K-M) of records withmatching RIN's, are transferred to the new record, before the old recordis deleted. New records, without a complete RIN match, are checked for aBusiness Category and/or Sub Business Category combination (A-B or A)matches against records already residing in the Map database 1802. Wherematches are found, data in the User Symbol Assignment and POI FolderAssignment (K,L) fields are copied into these fields on the new records.

For example, if all of the old (or newly updated) records with the sameA value, have the same symbol or folder assignment, then any new recordswith the same A value will be assigned the same symbol or folderassignments, respectively. New records not receiving a custom folderassignment are placed in (assigned to) the POI Inbox folder (defaultfolder). The updated POI records are stored in the Map Database 1802with the file folder data, layer assignments, etc. In an embodiment, theMap Database 1802 is relational database. Table 1 is presented as a flatfile as an example to clearly present the data associations andrelationships. The Sub Business Category (B) can itself employ amulti-tiered, hierarchical scheme to identify the sets, sub-sets andsub-sub-sets, etc. of various categories of POI's. For example, golf,golf courses, golf courses private, or restaurants, fast-foodrestaurants, McDonalds. Therefore, the specific arrangement of Table 1is not required.

Additional data is downloaded from the centralized Internet POI Database102, in conjunction with the POI record data identified in Table 1, aspart of the data update process. Such data may include POI defaultSymbols (icon markers) for any selected data sets which are not alreadyresident on the map program 106. For example, these might be new symbolsfor data sets newly added to the Centralized POI database 102. Theadditional downloaded data may include required updates to the fieldheading information for the Qualitative Information Data Fields (Table1, Item E) for any selected data sets which were revised since the lastupdate. For example, if any new fields were added to the qualitativeinformation data (E) since the last update, then new heading, data typeand data format information is also sent.

The additional data also may include information for displaying GlobalAdvertisements 322 described in FIG. 3B. This includes the advertisementdisplay pages, linking information, button nomenclature and symbols, andthe Business Category assignments (Table 1, Item A, B) for anyassociated POI data sets which were selected for downloading. Asdescribed with FIG. 3B, the global advertising buttons 317 are displayedin conjunction with the active POI data set, therefore the globaladvertising information includes Business Category (A, B) assignments(relationships). Other additional downloaded data includes the buildingstructures (airport terminals, shopping malls, strip malls, etc.) shapefiles.

As shown in FIG. 18, contact data can be shared between the mappingprogram 106 and a contact management program 1804 using theimport/export functions of the mapping program 1805 or contactmanagement program 1806. Table 2 shows a typical list of contact recordfields.

TABLE 2 Contact Management Application Data Fields Contact Fields DataExample Title FirstName John LastName Doe Company Acme Div GM AutomotiveDepartment JobTitle Director of Purchasing BusinessStreet GM Tech CenterBusinessStreet2 MC 555-204-001 BusinessStreet3 30501 Van Dyke AvenueBusinessCity Warren BusinessState MI BusinessPostalCode 48090BusinessCountry United States of America Latitude 42.51792 Longitude−83.03566 Matched to Confirmed Location Date Stamp Feb. 28, 2004HomeStreet 1234 University Dr HomeStreet2 HomeStreet3 HomeCity PontiacHomeState MI HomePostalCode 48342 HomeCountry United States of AmericaLatitude 42.65861 Longitude −83.2561 Matched to Street Address DataStamp Feb. 28, 2004 BusinessFax BusinessPhone (555) 555-1234BusinessPhone2 CarPhone CompanyMainPhone HomeFax HomePhone (555)555-5678 HomePhone2 MobilePhone (555) 555-9101 OtherPhone PagerPrimaryPhone EmailAddress johndoe@aol.com EmailDisplayName John Doe(johndoe@aol.com) Email2Address Email2DisplayName Email3AddressEmail3DisplayName Location Notes GM Tech Center, MC 555-204-001 POBoxSpouse Barbara

In this example, non-bolded fields are available from Microsoft'sOutlook program. The bolded fields; Latitude, Longitude, Matched to, andDate Stamp, however, are unique to any currently available contactmanagement application program. In an embodiment, these fields are addedto the contact records in the contact management application program1804, however, benefits can still be realized without adding thesefields to the contact management application software, as will beexplained.

As contact records without stored geo-coordinates are imported into themapping program, their addresses are geo-coded to the map, and thematching status is captured by the mapping program 106. Table 3 shows alist of possible Matched to status values or states.

TABLE 3 “Matched To” Field Options “Matched to” Status DescriptionStreet Address Matched to Street within Street Number Block StreetMatched to somewhere on the Street City Matched to geo-center of CityZip Code Matched to geo-center of Zip Code State Matched to geo-centerof State Country Matched to geo-center of Country Confirmed LocationManually located to correct location Approx Location Manually located toapproximate location Area Manually located to general area ManualManually located accuracy unknown Skipped Matching attempted, no optionselected Unmatched Matching not attempted

The non-bolded status values are typically found in commonly availablebusiness or travel mapping programs such as Microsoft's MapPoint orMicrosoft's Streets and Trips programs. As an address is geo-coded, itcan be mapped to a street address, or a street, or a zip code, etc.based on the effectiveness or completeness of the Address Coding Guide(ACG) of the mapping program. As described in the background sectionabove, an ACG consists of sets of files that provide city, state, andzip code data needed to locate addresses. It also contains streetsegment information that includes the street name and starting andending house number for both odd and even numbered sides of the street.The ACG also contains information designed to compensate for the factthat addresses, address abbreviations, locality names, and so on, havemany variations, and that some streets may be referenced by more thanone name. It generally contains a spell correction program to fixeserrors such as one letter differences, extra spaces, missing spaces,transposed characters, etc. The ACG also incorporates an address-matchstrategy which can be set from aggressive to conservative.

As each address is geo-coded, the map program either makes the matchentirely on its own, recording the “matched to” status, or it offersvarious map choices to the user when a single best acceptable match cannot be found, which also occurs when the ACG is not able to discernbetween multiple matches of near equal acceptability. The user choicesmay include matching the address to one of a number of complete streetaddresses, or streets, or cities (and state), or a zip code, etc.

In one embodiment, the user is given the option of moving the push-pinmanually after selecting one of the presented choices, with an operationsimilar to that described above with FIG. 16. If the marker is moved,the user is requested to record the relative accuracy of the selectedlocation by choosing one of the “manually located” selections in Table3, which includes the bolded selections (Confirmed Location, ApproxLocation, Area) and the “Manually located accuracy unknown” selection.In one embodiment, the default selection is Confirmed Location. The“matched to” status 1901 can then be selected to appear as one of thepieces of displayed information in the contact information box 1902.Knowing how accurately a contact marker has been located on the map canbe of particular benefit to a user who is planning to visit a contactperson or business.

The date that each address is mapped is recorded in the Date Stampfield. A separate Latitude, Longitude, Matched to, and Date Stamp valueis associated with each address in the contact's record, as shown inTable 2. If the contact marker is later relocated (moved on anyparticular map), the new location (geo-coordinates), “match to” statusand date stamp fields are updated. As records are passed back and forthbetween the mapping program and the contact management program, the“matched to” and date stamp fields can be used to determine which set ofgeo-coordinates to retain.

FIG. 19 shows an example of a contact record. In the improvedapplication, a Map Address button 1904 and Match To information box 1901are added to the contact information display 1902, allowing any enteredaddress to be viewed on a map using the same dialog box 1905 asdescribed in FIG. 16. As a new contact record is created and an addressis entered 1906, the dialog box 1905 is displayed to confirm thelocation of the entered address. In the example shown in FIG. 19, theaddress is mapped to the street address 1907.

If acceptable, the user can press the OK button 1908 and the “matchedto” status 1901 is recorded. If not, the user has the option of enteringa different address and pressing the find button 1909, or he canmanually relocate the push-pin 1903 and select one of the “manual”matched to status's 1910, or he can jump to a full map program 1911having additional navigation controls and drawing functions. Asmentioned above, in the preferred embodiment, the bolded fields, shownin Table 2, are added to the contact records in the contact managementapplication program. Then, when contacts are imported to the mapprogram, they are mapped using the geo-coordinates stored in the contactmanagement record, rather than by geo-coding the address.

In the contact management program 1804, when personally created contactrecord files are forwarded via email to other people, i.e., businessassociates, friends, etc., they would include the confirmed location,geo-coordinate fields (for example, Latitude, Longitude, Matched to, andDate Stamp). The person receiving the contact record would then not needto perform a geo-coding operation on the received address, as the“Matched to” information box would in indicate this as a ConfirmedLocation. Each person confirms the assignment of the geo-coordinates inhis personal contact record before forwarding it to associates.

The method herein of including geo-coordinates, a “matched to” statusand a date stamp is applicable to sales force automation and customerrelationship management (CRM) types of application programs, in additionto the contact management programs 1804, where several people in aworkgroup share access to the same contact database 1808. For example, asales department taking a call from a potential customer over the phone,would enter the customers name and address into the centralized customerdatabase. The address is then geo-coded, and the sales person canconfirm with the customer that the mapped location is correct. If it isnot, the push-pin marker can be moved on the map by the sales person asdirected by the customer over the phone, as described in FIG. 16. Then,when the contact's information is forwarded to a sales person tofollow-up with the customer, the forwarded contact record would includethe geo-coordinates, showing the customers exact, confirmed location. Asanother example, when the sales person visits the customer, he canverify and correct the customer's location by manually relocating thecontact marker on his map. The new geo-coordinates are then forward backto, or synchronized with, the companies centralized customer database1808, along with the other customer contact call information.

The synchronization techniques employed by sophisticated sales forceautomation and customer relationship management programs utilize methodsto ensure that the most recent data within these shared records issaved, so the date stamping of the geo-coordinates and “matched to”fields may not be applicable or needed in applications employing thesemore sophisticated synchronization techniques.

There will be cases where the contact management program 1804 may not becapable of storing the Latitude, Longitude, Matched to, and Date Stampfields as part of the record data. In these cases, as contact recordsare again re-imported into the map program 106 after having been updatedin the contact management application program 1804, the imported recordsare matched against existing records in the map program by the primaryor key fields of the contact record, before any address geo-coding isattempted. Data in the geo-coordinate, Matched to and Date Stamp fieldsof the records with matching primary or key fields are transferred tothe newer downloaded record, before deleting the old contact record,retained in the Map Database 1802. This process is similar to thatdescribed in Table 1, where user assigned fields K-M are retained orpassed on to the new, updated POI's received by the map program. Thisaverts having to re-geo-code the addresses of any previously importedrecords, while retaining any efforts spent earlier to correctly confirmtheir locations. Only the records which were not previously importedneed to be address geo-coded.

In one embodiment, independent websites 107, that is websites other thanthe Internet-based, centralized POI Database 102, may make POI data setsavailable with confirmed geo-coordinate data for downloading in a formatcompatible with map programs 106 having an updateable map layer 101. Forexample, independent websites 107 could include corporate websitesproviding locations of their stores, facilities or franchises, or itcould include the results of an Internet, map-based search engine, likeYahoo Maps, MapQuest, or Superpages.com, for example.

In this embodiment, the POI locations information includes confirmedgeo-coordinate data allowing these POI's to be mapped with improvedaccuracy and consistency, including places without street addresses,airport terminal gates for example. The mapping of POI's using confirmedgeo-coordinates is not limited to downloading the POI data into a mapprogram within a computing device, but applies also to positioning POI'son any Internet map-based search engine map. Today, the POI's found withthese Internet map-based search engines are positioned on theInterned-based maps by geo-coding the street address. In one of thepreferred embodiments, the POI's are positioned using the confirmedlatitude and longitude coordinates, which are stored as part of the POIrecord data.

In another embodiment, the map itself, as viewed by the user on hiscomputing device, is not be generated from one of the aforementionedsearch engine websites, but instead is called from a map programresident in the computing device. In this embodiment, the map itself,with all its thematic details, need not be part of the informationcommunicated over the internet to the display (computing) device, as themap is already resident in the computing device. The display coordinatesof the map (centering coordinates and scaling) are shared (synchronized)between the internet site and the computing device, while POIinformation is downloaded to the computing device with confirmedgeo-coordinates for display and positioning on the map. As the map isnavigated by the user, the display coordinates of the map (centeringcoordinates and scaling) are uploaded to the internet site, so thatPOI's within the boundaries of the map can be downloaded to thecomputing device. The downloaded POI's can then appear on the updateablemap layer. This synchronized relationship saves bandwidth and speed whennavigating the map by eliminating the need to download large rasterimages from the website, as the map is re-drawn by the computing devicefrom commands sent by the internet site.

FIG. 18, shows that the POI data sets from a Centralized Internet POIDatabase 102 or from Independent Websites 107 can just as easily bedownloaded directly into a hand-held palm or pocket PC type computingdevice 111, personal digital assistant (PDA), or to an in-vehiclenavigation system 110 with updateable map layer(s). The computing devicemay be any type, portable or not. In the case of a computing device witha smaller display, like a PDA, palm device or telephone, it may not bepossible to display both the entire Folder List column 304 with its POIselections and the actual map area showing the location of the POI'ssimultaneously. In this case, the user may need to alternate betweendisplaying the data set selections and the map.

In the case of computing devices with limited memory, FIG. 17 includesan “On-Demand” path 1719 which provides for the download and display ofa more limited number of POI's, based on a specific geographic area. Inthis scenario for example, the user may desire to locate the nearestrestaurant or golf course, using a computing device in which he has notpreviously downloaded any POI records. This process is similar in partto other existing processes already in use for downloading POIinformation specific to a local radius, however in one embodiment, thedownloaded POI's are those residing in the users profile 105, and theyadditionally contain the aforementioned qualitative information, andpre-validated geo-coordinates.

After user verification at step 1708, the “On-Demand” path 1719 presentsthe user with the POI file folder listings 1720 from his previouslyestablished user profile 105. The user selects the folder or folders ofinterest 1721. Information on the geographic area of interest isretrieved from the computing device 1722. This can be a geo-coordinateor the center coordinate of a displayed map, and a radius based on thedisplayed map size or a default radius. The POI's then downloaded to thecomputing device are those that fall within the geographic boundariesand within the user's profile 1723. This approach pre-qualifies andlimits the number of POI's which then appear in the map and which theuser must sort through.

FIG. 18 also shows that the POI data which is downloaded to a PC basedcomputing device 109 can be shared with, or downloaded to, these samehand-held devices or an in-vehicle navigation system 110, 111. In thisembodiment, the main map program 1803 with capabilities of handlingupdateable POI map layers, is already resident in the hand-held deviceor in-vehicle navigation system 110, 111, just as it is in a PC-basedcomputing device 106. One of the benefits of this configuration is thatthe PC-based device can act as a larger repository for the POI data sets1802, where memory space might be limited in the hand-held or in-vehiclenavigation devices 110, 111. POI data sets are selectively downloadedfrom the PC-based device 109 based on user needs such as travel plans.To accomplish this, the user would select the POI's to be exported fromthe selections the Folder List 304, mapping them temporarily, and theneither selecting the export function 1805 on this program, or selectingthe import function 1807 from the mapping program on the device that thePOI's are to be sent to. The methods of exporting and importing of databetween software applications is well known by those in the industry.

FIG. 20 shows an alternative embodiment that provides efficiencyimprovements in managing larger amounts of POI information.

In the embodiment of FIG. 20, command buttons to increase or decreasethe information display level of the POI information boxes appear at thesub-folder level within the Folder List after a POI folder is selectedfor display on the map. In one embodiment, a first [−] command button2001 and a second [+] command button 2002 are provided. Selectingcommand buttons 2001, 2002 causes the map to move or “ratchet” throughthe possible information display configurations of the information boxesfor all POI's within that folder en masse, without the user having toopen a dialog box 604 as described with FIG. 6A.

The functionality provided by command buttons 2001, 2002 is similar tothat described with FIG. 4. For example, clicking on either the [+] box414 or [−] box 416 ratchets the information display configuration up ordown to the next configuration respectively. In the embodiment of FIG.20, such an operation is performed against all the POI's in the folder.For example, a first click of the [+] command button 2002, after a POIfolder is selected for display on the map, causes all POI's in thefolder to be displayed with the Name Only information box, resulting ina display as depicted in FIG. 6C.

As an example, FIG. 6 uses three levels of information display, witheach showing an increasing amount of information. However, alternateembodiments may provide different kinds of information in differentconfigurations or a different order. Thus, the command buttons 2001,2002 and boxes 414, 416 need not move sequentially among levels and neednot progressively increment or decrement the amount of informationshown; they may simply select different configurations of any kind ororder. Any number of information display configurations of differentcombinations of information can be created and ratcheted through in anorder set by the number assigned to each configuration.

In FIG. 20, the Mark as Favorite command 420, previously described withreference to FIG. 4, is implemented in the form of selection 2003 withinan information box along with [−], [+], and [x] boxes. The [−], [+], and[x] boxes function as described above for FIG. 4. This functionalityallows any POI to be quickly marked as a favorite without the userhaving to open the dialog box 403. In this variation of the embodiment,POI's that have been marked as favorites appear with a solid star symbol2004, and those that have not appear as an outline of a star 2003,making it extremely easy to both identify and mark POI's as favorites.

In another variation of the embodiment, as shown in FIG. 20, theFavorites folder 2005 resides outside the control of the main Points ofInterest—All folder 2006. This allows a user to close or collapse themain folder 2006, while still being able to access and operate upon anyPOI's marked as favorites, such as POI's 2007, 2008, 2009. In thisembodiment, any folder containing a POI that was marked as a favoritealso appears under the Favorites folder 2005. This allows the user todisplay and control only the POI's that have been selected from the mainbody of POI's.

In another variation, also shown in FIG. 20, the map tool bar 2012contains a pair of controls to allow all the settable or controllablefont sizes, which includes text appearing within the information boxes,and text used on the street map, to be increased or decreased. Thisfunctionality enables the user to avoid having to open a dialog box anddrill down to a lower control level, which is often a three-clickoperation. In one embodiment, a large “A” with an up cursor 2010 causesthe map system to ratchet the font size up a level, and the smaller “A”with an down cursor 2011 ratchets it down. The operation requires noselecting of any text or specific area of operation to be enacted upon.The operation is easily accessible as the controls are convenientlypositioned on the map toolbar 2012.

In another variation, map toolbar 2012 contains commands to temporarilyhide any open information boxes, which block the viewing of the streetinformation and POI symbols appearing on the map. This functionality isdifferent from the previously described information level controlcommands or the information close function in that it only temporarilyhides the information boxes to view the street map. POI symbols arestill displayed on the map.

In an embodiment, the POI information box hide function has threestates. One state shows all POI labels, a second state shows only labelsfor POI's marked as favorites, and a third state hides all labels, bothfor favorite and non-favorite POI's. Clicking on the hide labels icon2013 causes the system to hide or remove all of the non-favorite POIinformation boxes from being displayed. At the same time, the hidelabels icon 2013 is replaced by the pair of circled icons 2014, 2015.

From this state, the show all labels icon 2014 can be selected, whichwould return the map to the previous state, or the hide favorite labelsicon 2015 can be selected, which would remove all the labels(information boxes) from being displayed on the map, and at the sametime, replace the show all labels icon 2014 and hide favorite labelsicon 2015 pair, with the show favorite labels icon 2016. At this point,selecting the show favorite labels icon 2016 returns the map to thestate just previously described.

In this context, the terms label, information box, and POI label,throughout this description, refer to POI information boxes, unlessspecifically described otherwise.

3. Extensions and Alternatives

In the foregoing specification, the invention has been described withreference to specific embodiments thereof. It will, however, be evidentthat various modifications and changes may be made thereto withoutdeparting from the broader spirit and scope of the invention. Thespecification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in anillustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: causing a point ofinterest icon to be displayed at a first location on a geographical mapon a computer display; after movement of the icon on the displayedgeographical map by a user and an indication by the user that indicatesthat the moved icon is now located at a second more representativelocation for the point of interest, receiving geo-coordinate data of thesecond more representative location for the point of interest; storingsaid geo-coordinate data of the second location of the point of interestas a database entry that is associated with said point of interest; and,thereafter, providing the second location geo-coordinate data of thepoint of interest through the internet to a plurality of map displayprograms for display on a plurality of displays associated with aplurality of computers.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the databaseentry for said point of interest is made by a trusted party, wherein atrusted party comprises a manager or owner of the point of interest, orauthorized individual, or otherwise trustworthy person.
 3. The method ofclaim 2, wherein the database entry geo-coordinate data of the point ofinterest is configured such that it may be updated only by a trustedparty.
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein the icon has the form of apush-pin.
 5. The method of claim 1 wherein the icon has a formsuggesting movability.
 6. A method, comprising: receiving from a firstsource, first information regarding a point of interest; receiving froma second source that is different than the first source, secondinformation regarding said point of interest; causing, to be displayed,on a display screen of the computing device, concurrently on ageographical map, the first point of interest comprising informationfrom said first and said second sources; after causing the point ofinterest to be displayed, creating or updating a database entryassociated with said point of interest comprising information fromeither one or both of said first or said second sources; thereafter,updating a first map layer independent of a second map layer, whereinthe first map layer comprises points of interest and the second maplayer comprises a geographical map; and, thereafter, causing the displayon a plurality of displays of said first and said second map layers. 7.The method of claim 6, wherein said first information received from thefirst source is comprised of a location address of a point of interest,and the second information received from the second source is comprisedof geo-coordinate data for said point of interest.
 8. A method,comprising: receiving from a first source, first information regarding afirst set of points of interest; receiving from a second source that isdifferent than the first source, second information regarding a secondset of points of interest; creating or updating database entriesassociated with said first and said second sets of points of interestcomprising the information received regarding the first and said secondsets of points of interest; updating a first map layer independent of asecond map layer, wherein the first map layer comprises points ofinterest data from said database and the second map layer comprises ageographical map; and, thereafter, causing the display on a plurality ofdisplays said first and said second map layers.
 9. The method of claim8, wherein said updating step comprises selectively updated the firstmap layer with point of interest data associated with selected sets ofpoints of interest.
 10. A method comprising: providing first and secondpoints of interest data sets; receiving update data with respect to saidfirst or second point of interest data sets to create first or secondupdate point of interest data sets; and selectively providing said firstor second update point of interest data sets to a computer configured todisplay a map from one or more map layers, including at least ageographical map layer and a point of interest map layer; wherein thecomputer is configured to selectively obtain the data for said point ofinterest map layer from first and second point of interest data setsassociated with said computer; and further wherein said computer isconfigured to store said first or second update point of interest datasets into a corresponding one of said first and second point of interestdata sets associated with said computer; wherein said configuredcomputer displays the map from one or more map layers, including atleast a geographical map layer and a point of interest map layer.